Baby dilemma
by FairytailBleach4eva126
Summary: While on a solo mission, Natsu gets himself transformed into a baby and can only remember his own name. Now add Lucy to the picture- just a mage who happens to run into baby Natsu. Unable to leave the baby, Lucy adopts the him as her own and raises him for five peaceful years. Things don't go as planned when Natsu suddenly reverts back to his true form...
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

* * *

"Shit!" Natsu cursed as he narrowly avoided the swift kick.  
He was tired.  
He wouldn't have admitted it out loud, but he was dead tired. So far, all his attacks had completely failed and didn't even seem to affect the enemy at all.  
"I can see that your current strength is not enough to kill me yet…Natsu Dragneel."  
Natsu froze midway through his attack. How did the person know his name? And the voice…  
The voice was calm and collected, but there was something in it that made shivers run down Natsu's spine. It was just so…sinister and plain evil.  
It wasn't familiar, but it felt as if Natsu somehow knew that person. Curiosity and (although he wouldn't admit it), slight fear burned throughout him.  
"Show yourself!" Natsu demanded as he tried to ward away the thick smoke that prevented him from seeing who he was fighting.  
"I'm sorry," was all Natsu heard before a black wave of magic completely engulfed him.

* * *

**A/N: Haha this is only the prologue, and I know it's really short, but my normal chapters won't be this short :D Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome :)**


	2. Meeting

Chapter One- Meeting

* * *

"It's so freaking hot today!" Lucy complained as she trudged along the streets of Hargeon.  
She couldn't just rush home and dance in front of the air-conditioner. Her arms were weighed down with all of her stupid groceries and she still had another crap load to buy. Besides, she was pretty tight on money, but she just need to get her basic living supplies today.  
Ever since she ran away from home, she had been guild hunting, but none of her applications had been successful so far. There was this one guild that she really _really_ wanted to join, but of course, it was the strongest and most famous guild of all.  
Yup. Lucy's secret dream was to become a Fairy Tail mage.  
'Talking big are we?' a voice sneered inside her head. 'Didn't even make it into Mermaid Heel, let alone Fairy Tail.'  
"Shut up!" Lucy snapped out loud, causing a couple of passer-bys to look at her like she had grown an extra arm.  
She _wished_ she could grow an extra arm. The things were so heavy, especially the stupid three litre family pack of toilet cleaner that was on a half-price sale.  
Lucy was cheap okay? She was tight on money. She could barely afford her one room apartment, and since she was still on guild hunting, she didn't actually have any jobs. So Lucy was practically living off the Magic Council.  
'Joining a guild' had been on the top of her to-do list for around six months, and she never actually did it yet.  
"Life's depressing," Lucy muttered darkly as she entered the closest grocery store she could find. She still needed dinner for tonight.

* * *

Exiting the store with a couple more bags of food, Lucy was just about to head to Hargeon train station, when a huge colourful sign caught her eye.  
For the first time since she woke up that day, Lucy smiled widely as her eyes sparkled in happiness.  
"A magic store!" she breathed as her body automatically started to make its way towards the entrance.  
Dropping her bags in haste, Lucy ran around the store like a lunatic, admiring every single magic item in the store.  
"See anything you like?" a squeaky voice interrupted her train of thought.  
"Oh um," Lucy started nervously, slightly surprised that she hadn't noticed the man coming. "Nah, I was just admiring the items."  
"Judging by your eagerness in magic, may I presume that you are a mage?" the shopkeeper asked.  
"Actually, I'm a celestial mage!" Lucy said proudly as she pointed to the side of her belt. She didn't really have a lot of gold keys, but silver keys were still pretty cool to her.  
"That reminds me!" the man exclaimed, startling Lucy slightly. "We actually have a new shipment of silver keys!"  
"Really?" Lucy asked as her eyes shone with pure excitement.  
"Just wait here," the shopkeeper told her before he shuffled towards the back of the store.  
After waiting for less than thirty seconds, Lucy began to get slightly impatient, but before she could open her mouth to complain, the shopkeeper came waddling in with a small cardboard box in his hands.  
"Oh my gosh!" Lucy squealed as he opened the box to reveal which silver it was. "The newly released Nikora, The Canis Minor!"  
"How much would that be?" she demanded as she got pulled her purse out.  
"That would be 20,000 Jewels Miss."  
Lucy's hand froze as she opened her purse. "What was that again?" she asked quietly.  
"20,000 Jewels Miss," the man repeated.  
"Actually, I'll come back another time. I have a doctor's appointment now!" Lucy lied as she quickly exited the store, feeling bitter and slightly embarrassed.

* * *

Lucy sat in the sweltering heat as she stared in anger at the electronic device that had just announced the worst news she could possibly expect.  
"….for your inconvenience, but the train due at Hargeon is damaged and needs to be fixed. Another train will be coming in twenty minutes…"  
Now Lucy seriously felt pissed. The train station was completely packed, and those who were lucky enough could sit inside where two air-conditioners blasted on high. And those who were unlucky enough had to sit outside, practically basking in the sun's heat.  
"Curse the stupid train," Lucy muttered angrily as she eyed the people indoors enviously.  
Lucy's anger had reached its peak a couple of minutes ago when she heard one of the people sitting indoors complaining about the heat.  
'That nerve!' she thought as she glared daggers at the man. 'Bloody basking in the coolness of two air-conditioners and can still comment about how hot it is when there's people like me; sitting out on these stupid metal benches with the sun bloody glowing in our faces!'  
Still eyeing the man angrily, Lucy watched in pure agony as the huge clock ticked ever so slowly.

* * *

"Can't believe I made it home!" Lucy exclaimed as she walked towards her apartment block.  
Her arms were extremely sore from holding her crap load of groceries and her legs were aching from walking around too much. Lucy almost sighed in relief as she walked towards the main door to her apartment.  
Before she could dig around for her keys however, Lucy was almost certain that she heard a baby crying out near dump. Her apartment block was right next to a huge rubbish dump, and it was part of the reason why it was so cheap, but Lucy didn't care less. Her house was on the twentieth floor, so she was sure that the smell wasn't going to be that bad.  
Ignoring her aching arms and legs, Lucy slowly and cautiously walked towards the entrance to the dump. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the area. There were no signs of movement or sounds, so Lucy shrugged it off and walked back towards her apartment.

_Crying _

There was no mistaking it this time. Lucy half walked half ran towards the dump and quickly undid the locks that held the gates shut. Crinkling her nose at the smell that wafted up her nostrils, Lucy tried to pinpoint the source of the noise.  
She was almost sure that the baby was somewhere near the back of the dump, so she checked there first.  
Then she saw it.  
There was definitely no mistaking it.  
A slight movement at the end of the dump made Lucy jump, but her heart filled with relief that the poor baby wouldn't be left outside for the night.  
Waddling towards the small bundle, Lucy stopped about an arm's length in front of it.  
He looked horrible.  
Had he been left out in the heat all day long with no food or drink?  
That was most likely the case because his skin was deathly pale and his lips were cracked. Lucy stared down in pity at the poor boy who was probably no older than six months.  
She didn't have the heart to just leave him there and wait for another person to find him.  
Lucy gingerly picked up the little bundle and decided to keep him in the meantime.

* * *

**A/N: So there's chapter one :D I would have liked it to be a little bit longer, but oh well...whatever :) Anyways, please review- constructive criticism is very much welcome :D Thank you for reading! **


	3. Help

_Chapter Two- Help_

* * *

The baby lay perfectly still in Lucy's arms, and for a moment, she freaked out. 'What if he's dead?!'  
Lucy quickly lowered her ear towards the baby's chest and sighed in relief as she heard the small, steady heartbeats. 'Shouldn't be thinking negatively,' she scolded herself as she walked towards her pile of groceries.  
Great. She had no idea how to get up to her house. Her house was on the twentieth floor for Pete's sake! Plus, the only key she had was Aquarius's key, and she was sure that Aquarius wouldn't be much of a big help.  
Lucy could have easily ditched her groceries and just waltzed back to her apartment. But nope. Some cheap ass robber would come along and steal it. It cost a lot of money okay? Jeez…  
Or Lucy could have easily ditched the baby and pretended that she never found it in the first place. Lucy sighed as she rubbed her sore head. Spending a day in the intense heat had caused a migraine of some sort.  
'Don't think negatively. Don't think negatively,' she repeated in her head as her brain told her to just run down to the nearest adoption centre and drop the baby off. There was actually an adoption centre just down the road, but Lucy wasn't risking having the poor baby being brought up there.  
Rumours had it that the adoption centre (like Lucy) was living off the Magic Council and its services were just completely off the hook. Lucy had actually walked past the wretched place a couple of times, and every time she looked inside, she would see the depressing eyes of the kids and babies staring back at her. She wasn't going to just ditch the baby and spend the rest of her life regretting her poor decision.  
Sighing loudly, Lucy rubbed her throbbing temple and stole a quick glance at the sleeping baby in her arms. And for the first time since she saw him, Lucy actually saw how cute he really was. She was too absorbed in caring about her groceries and his health to realise how adorable he was.  
'I'm going to keep him until I can find a nice, trustworthy person to bring him up,' Lucy decided as she pulled out her phone.  
Dialling her best friend, Lucy waited in annoyance and huffed towards the other end as he finally picked up two full minutes later.  
"What took you so long?" she snapped dangerously.  
"Well, just partying out late with friends. What do you want?" he asked bluntly as he yawned loudly.  
"Come over to my place. I need some muscle and extra arms," Lucy replied irritably. "Please," she added quickly as she heard her best friend sigh in annoyance.  
"Alright, alright Miss Fusspot," he craved in as Lucy inwardly cheered. "I'll be there in a few," he said before he hung up quickly.

* * *

'A few' turned out to be twenty minutes.  
"First the stupid train, and now my stupid idiotic friend," Lucy muttered angrily as she sat down on the curb and looked at the baby's peaceful face. The baby had slept on soundly for the past twenty minutes or so, and truth to be told, Lucy was glad that she didn't have to deal with him.  
The sounds of tyres pelting down the street made Lucy look up in alarm, but her face quickly contorted into anger as she realised who it was. The car smoothly parked across Lucy's apartment before its owner stepped out casually, acting as if he was never late to begin with.  
"You!" Lucy spat as she strode towards him with wide, angry steps. "Are so dead."  
"Hey, at least I even agreed to help you," he retorted as a smirk formed on his lips.  
Lucy wasn't going to admit it, but he was right.  
"Yeah whatever," she snapped as the smirk on his smug face grew wider. "And wipe that shit eating smirk off your stupid face!"  
The smirk only grew wider still, if that was even possible. Lucy breathed deeply in attempt to calm down, but looking at her best friend's face only made her more and more pissed.  
"Carry my groceries up for me please," she demanded as she pointed to the pile of groceries, making sure that the baby was secured in her other arm.  
And for the first time since he came, Sting noticed the small bundle wrapped in Lucy's arms. His eyes grew so wide that Lucy was afraid it would pop right out of his socket. Disbelief and shock took over his smug face as he paled considerably.  
"W-What t-the h-hell i—s THAT?!" he spluttered as anger started to cloud in his widened eyes.  
"A baby," Lucy said simply.  
"I know, I know," Sting said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm himself down. "But still, WHAT THE HELL LUCY?!" he exploded seconds later as a forehead vein popped. "Who the hell did it to you Lucy? I swear, when I find him, I'm going to kill his sorry face," he said as he cracked his knuckles loudly.  
"Relax dipshit," Lucy snapped as she watched Sting overreact. It would have been funny if she wasn't so pissed at Sting. "I found him in the dump."  
Sting blinked once. Sting blinked twice. "WHAT?!"  
"I found him in the dump," Lucy repeated impatiently as she gestured the dump with her free hand.  
"WHAT THE HELL WOULD A BABY BE DOING IN THE DUMP?!"  
"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? AND LOWER YOUR UGLY VOICE DOWN!"

"WHY DON'T YOU LOWER YOUR VOICE DOWN?!"  
"JUST SHUT UP!" Lucy screamed as she rubbed her head to relieve her migraine.  
"Nah, but seriously, who the hell would be such an ass to leave a kid in the dump?" Sting asked seriously, acting mature for a change.  
"I don't know," Lucy murmured as she looked down at the baby's peaceful face. "But I do know that I'm going to keep him until I find a nice, trustworthy person to bring him up," Lucy explained as Sting nodded solemnly.  
"Can I see him?" Sting blurted out suddenly as he tried to look over Lucy's shoulder to see the baby.  
"Sure."  
Lucy uncovered some of the clothes that the baby had been wrapped in and looked at Sting to see his reaction.  
Sting just stared wide- eyed at the baby, not saying anything at all.  
"So…do you like him?" Lucy asked, effectively breaking the silence.  
"Huh? Oh, um he's cute," Sting admitted with a slight blush.  
At this, Lucy smirked and prodded Sting's shoulder. "I thought you didn't like babies," Lucy teased as Sting's blush reddened slightly.  
"I-I don't!" he retorted weakly as he stared at the little baby. "I don't know why, but the moment I looked at him, I just felt some kind of connection towards him. Call me crazy, but there's a chance that he's a dragon slayer," Sting said a matter-of-factly as he looked at Lucy seriously.  
"Y-You're not joking right?"  
"Why the hell would I joke about something like this?! But dragon slayers can detect other dragon slayers and kind of connect to them somehow. I think I feel some kind of connection towards him. Ask Rogue if you don't believe me."  
"Alright, alright," Lucy said as she stared down at the small baby in her arms. She still had a hard time believing that the small, peaceful baby in her arms was probably a dragon slayer. Dragon slayers tended to be really strong, and she just couldn't picture the innocent baby in her arms as a strong dragon slayer.  
"Well, it's getting pretty late, so please bring my groceries up for me," Lucy sighed as she looked at Sting dangerously.  
Ten minutes and forty three seconds later, Lucy found herself flopped against the couch, Sting right beside her. The elevator had broken down and they had to walk up the twenty flights of stairs in order to get to Lucy's house.  
"You owe me big time," Sting said as he helped himself to a glass of cold water.  
"Yeah yeah," Lucy dismissed as closed her eyes, trying to catch up on her much needed sleep.  
"Oi Lucy, I'm going to be spending the night here," he said as he yawned loudly.  
At this, Lucy's eyes flew open. "You wish! Get out of my house!" she barked as she crossed her arms defiantly.  
"You still owe me, so take this as your repayment for all my hard work," Sting stated in a know-it-all tone.  
"Whatever, just let me sleep and don't mess up anything," Lucy comprised as Sting smiled triumphantly.  
Now he just needed a place to sleep….  
Lucy had the couch, so that was obviously out. The reason why Lucy was sleeping on the couch in the first place was because her bed was 'taken.'  
Yup. The tiny little baby was sleeping smack bang in the middle of Lucy's bed. She insisted that it was safer for him as he wouldn't fall off the edge.  
So now, Sting was bed- less because of the tiny baby. Sting glared daggers at the baby, but of course, the baby just slept on soundly, not even aware that someone was rather pissed at him.  
Sting grumbled incoherent words under his breath as sat on the floor, leaning against the back of Lucy's couch.  
He closed his eyes and let his mind wander off. Sting chuckled softly as he found himself thinking about the time when he practically lived in the apartment with Lucy.  
When Lucy first ran away from home, she wasn't used to living alone, so Sting was often the one that stayed with her when she need him. So basically, Sting used to spend more time at Lucy's house than he did at his own house.  
It was good to be 'home'.

* * *

Lucy awoke to the sound of the birds chirping loudly and the sun shining at her face. Groaning softly, Lucy heaved herself off the couch and stole a glance at her bed to make sure that the baby was safe.  
Lucy froze in her stretching position.

* * *

**A/N: So there's chappie two everyone! :D Thank you to Dark-Otaku-One-Of-Many, DIGIKO12, SnowDragonSlayerTasha for reviewing. They are very much appreciated :) Also, just to clear some things up, Sting and Lucy are friends, and will remain the same throughout the rest of the story. Sorry! **

**Oh, and please please review. They motivate me to write more, so if you review, I will update faster ;) Review and make my day. I promise that I will update faster if I get more reviews :)**


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